The US President appeared to side with Volodymyr Zelensky following a recent phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, while indicating his frustration with Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump has been left “very disappointed” by Vladimir Putin, the US President said, following a key phone call with the Russian despot that saw him make a surprising admission.
Mr Trump, 79, spoke with both the Russian President and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymr Zelensky in two key conversations last week, with the latter billed as a “strategic call” as Ukraine seeks additional aid for its war effort. Both Mr Zelensky and the US Commander-in-Chief waxed lyrical about one another in the aftermath, with the Ukrainian President hailing conversations about “important issues”. The other call didn’t go so well, however, with Putin.
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Speaking to gathered members of the press over the weekend, Mr Trump said he was left “very disappointed” with the Russian President in what appeared to signal growing discontent between the two world leaders.
He told journalists he was left “disappointed” and felt that Putin was not “looking to stop this fighting”. He said: “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin. Because I don’t think he’s there. And I’m very disappointed. I don’t think he’s looking to stop this fighting.”
The call came after relations between Mr Trump and Putin, which the US President described as “always very good” following his inauguration earlier this year, appear to have soured in recent months.
After occasionally taking his Russian counterpart’s side in attempts to find a “deal” that could end the war in Ukraine, he has grown increasingly frustrated, to the point at which on July 4 he threatened new sanctions on Putin’s bloodthirsty regime “may be coming”. At the same time, he appears to be growing more content with Mr Zelensky.
The President’s call with the Ukrainian premier went much better, according to President Zelensky, who said in his own post-call summary that the conversation was “probably the best in all this time”.
In a statement, he thanked Mr Trump for his “readiness to help” Ukraine after he made additional requests for air defence assistance. He said: “This was probably the best conversation in all this time, it was maximally productive. We discussed the topic of air defenses. I am grateful for the readiness to help.”
He added: “Patriot (missiles) are key to protection from ballistic (missiles). We discussed several other important issues that our teams will work out in detail at meetings in the near future.”
Mr Trump has attempted to extract massive concessions from Ukraine during peace talk attempts, claiming the US has provided too much aid to the country since the Russian invasion began. Speaking over the weekend, he said he continued to support the country, telling reporters: “I am helping Ukraine. I help a lot.”